Appliqué is a very versatile machine embroidery technique. Creating free-standing ornaments and gift tags is fun and easy! With a basic appliqué tag design, you can add your own lettering or merge in other designs to create exactly what you want.
Skill Level
Basic embroidery skills. Novice or beginner skills with customizing software.
These instructions assume that you already know how to work with templates printed on fusible tearaway, a method I use most often for machine embroidered appliqué. If you’ve never used this technique, detailed instructions are included in the Appliqué Basics pdf that is included with most Lindee G Embroidery appliqué collections.
What You’ll Learn
- How to use simple yet creative techniques to expand your embroidery options
- How to make double-sided free-standing designs with appliqués
- How to customize designs with lettering
- How to resequence a design in customizing software to better suit your project
Selecting a Design
This technique works best when the satin cover stitching that finishes the appliqué sews last, as it so happens in the gingerbread designs on Gingery Christmas and is almost the case with this design. However, if we customize the tag with lettering, we’ll need to do a little extra work if we want a nice clean finished back with a satin stitched edge.
For this project, you’ll use the Gift Tag (lg002016) and add some lettering. There are two lettering designs in the collection that work perfectly. One is “Santa” (lg002025) and the second is “Holiday Greetings” (lg002017). Or, you can choose to add in your own lettering.
What You’ll Need
- Small scraps of fabric for front and back of appliqué
- Cutaway stabilizer (medium to heavy weight)
- Washaway stabilizer (fiber, not film)
- Light-weight tearaway stabilizer for printing templates
- Double-stick (pressure sensitive) fusible web for appliqué (Steam-A-Seam II or Pellon Easy Steam II)
- Gift tag design from Gingery Christmas by Lindee G Embroidery with templates
- One of the lettering designs or add your own
- Suitable embroidery threads
- Regular embroidery bobbin thread
- Bobbin of matching thread for the outer gingerbread color (last color in these designs)
- Temporary embroidery spray adhesive (“TESA”)
- Short length of ribbon or cord
- Eyelet cutter
- Customizing/Editing software (I used Embrilliance Enthusiast; it will also work in Embrilliance Essentials.)
Edit the design.
Open the design in customizing.
Merge in another design or create your own lettering.
2. Resequence the design
When a design or objects are added to a design, they will stitch after the last placed object. Normally this is not an issue. In our case, we need the lettering to sew earlier so that it won’t stitch through the attached back layer. We need to move our additions to just after color eight.In this program, objects can be dragged to the order you like or you can right click on a object and choose from the menu
Save the file for your machine.
3. Alternative method.
Simple resequencing such as we just did in software is not difficult to do at your machine and works best with machines that have visual displays.
Load the gift tag into memory and then merge in the lettering design. Sew the gift tag up through color 8, then advance 2 color stops and sew the lettering. Finally, back up 2 color stops and sew the tag’s last 2 colors. Don’t forget to stop sewing after the tag’s last color!
I’ve seen people do amazingly complex resequencing at the machine to avoid using a computer. It requires close attention to keep track of what you’re doing. Me? Give me software!
4. Prepare templates
Print templates onto fusible tearaway and loosely cut around shapes to separate. (See technique in the Appliqué Basics instructions if aren’t familiar with this process.
5. Prepare fabric
Fuse a piece of cutaway to the back of each piece of appliqué fabric using fusible web. Press one template to front of one fabric and one to cutaway of other fabric to make a reversible ornament.
While the cutaway isn’t strictly necessary, it adds extra body and dimension to the design.
Cut out appliqués just to the outside edge of the pattern lines
At some point you’ll need to use the eyelet punch to cut out the hole in the tag. The first
sample I made my punched eyelet lined up perfectly. The second time it didn’t. Because
the satin stitching was designed to go over the punched edge, if you punch afterwards,
you will be cutting thread. You can still make the hole later, but you’ll need to use some
other method.
A better method is to slow down the machine when it gets to the eyelet. A running stitch
sews just before the satin and you can manually stop the machine, remove the hoop, and
punch the hole at that time.
6. Set up to sew
Hoop 2 pieces of washaway stabilizer. Sew the first color of the design (placement outline).
7. Place top appliqué.
Mist back of top piece with TESA. Remove the template from piece and position in the hoop
within outline
8. Sew the tack down (zigzag) stitch and stop the machine.
Inspect the design to see if any areas extend beyond the tack down and trim off.
9. Sew design up until next to last color
Don’t sew last two colors! These two colors attach the back of the ornament
10. Place back appliqué
Remove the hoop from machine. Spray cutaway side of back appliqué with TESA, remove paper template, position appliqué in place, reset the hoop, replace the bobbin with the matching thread, and sew last color
11. Remove project from hoop and finish.
Trim off excess stabilizer close to the stitching. Remove remaining bits with damp paint
brush or sponge. It is not necessary to soak out the remaining stabilizer
You’ll notice that the eyelet hole on the back is not satin stitched. This design was
digitized well before the project was conceived. While I could have redigitized it, the intent
of the projects is to show how to work with stock designs that are already digitized. Could
you resequence in editing software? Absolutely! Is it worth the effort? That depends.
Looking for More Tag Style Designs?
Look for designs for badges and borders. These are often digitized as appliqué and work well
with the techniques described here. Two collections you might look at are:
- Monogram Frames, which include some frames along with some coordinating borders.
Look for the designs that include appliqué. - Badges, a collection of 40 appliqué-style “patch” designs that all work well for combining
with other designs.
If you want an eyelet, just extract those parts from the gift tag design in your editing program,
paste into the badge or border design and resequence as we’ve done in this project.
Begin to look at your designs as elements that can be taken apart and recombined in new and creative ways